Paint Your Härem (Paused)
by 823KE
Summary: (UmiHarem) Sonoda Umi, upon taking custody of a weird paintbrush, finds herself the target of everyone's romance. As the girl becomes acquainted with a mysterious mage researching the curse of the paintbrush, however, she starts to notice various oddities, and realizes there might be more to this than meets the eyes. But really... she just wants a break, damn it. (Chapter 8)
1. Chapter 1

**OhmyGod... is it... is it finally back!? Yes. Yes it is. Buckle up, tighten your seat belts, because this story is BACK! ...but I'll probably be too damn slow.**

* * *

Sonoda Umi doesn't remember much. It was as if her brain stopped processing, as if her memories had malfunctioned. The last major event she recalled was graduating with all her idol friends, and...

Now she began to feel unamused at herself. Graduated? She had just begun her second year of high school.

She must be really out of it today.

Sonoda Umi then picked up a paintbrush from the club room's desk.

Whose paintbrush was this? She didn't know. But it was there. And it wasn't hers.

Did it belong to one of her friends? She wasn't sure, but that was most likely the case. If not, that would mean someone had entered the club room, someone who wasn't any of her idol group's members, and left the paintbrush there.

"...well, better keep it in case the janitor finds and trashes it," she eventually said to herself and stuffed the brush in her bag. The girl then turned around. "I guess I'll go home for today." Her childhood friends, Kousaka Honoka and Minami Kotori, had initially waited for her to finish her _other_ club activity- archery, seeing as they didn't have a school idol meeting scheduled today, but Umi insisted they go without her. _It seems like they did what I said._ Sighing, Umi put her earphones on.

She knew she told them to leave without her, but she might as well as wallow in regret now that she was alone.

Being honest is pretty hard, she had to admit mentally.

The girl walked through the corridors of Otonokizaka High School, her mind settling into the peaceful atmosphere around her and the music from her earphones.

* * *

"Umi!"

Said bluenette winced as her door was slammed open by a certain energetic ginger haired girl. "Honoka, I keep telling you, knock first!"

Kousaka Honoka didn't listen. "Umi!" she yelled and sat in front of the girl. "I like you!"

"Honoka, seriously, you need to listen... huh?" Umi blinked. The girl in front of her leaned close to her face. "W-w-wait, wait, Honoka, what!?"

"I like you, Umi!" Honoka exclaimed. Then she surprised the bluenette by claiming her lips.

"M-mn!?" Umi couldn't believe what was happening. Her mouth was currently connected to the mouth of one of her childhood friends, the extremely soft and blissful sensation filling her mind and erasing any other thoughts from- Umi pushed Honoka away. "H-H-Honoka! What the hell!?" she screamed.

Then she blinked.

Sitting in front of her was her assailant... Minami Kotori.

"Whuh!?"

Kotori smiled. "Umi... I really love you..." the girl whispered and leaned closer once more.

"W-wait! Hold on!" Umi screamed. She tried to flail her arms around, but discovered that she couldn't... for unknown reasons. Kotori then pinned her down on the ground. "K-K-Kotori!"

"I want you, Umi... I want to be connected with you..."

"T-time out! Time out! I said time out!" Umi screamed.

A shadow then loomed over her. "Don't be like that, senpai."

Umi blinked. The upside-down view of Hoshizora Rin's face smiled back at her, albeit the expression on her face was more... suggestive, than playful, if anything. "R-Rin!?"

"We both love you lots, senpai..." a new voice said.

The bluenette's eyes darted back to her childhood friend, who no longer existed and was instead replaced by the underclassman Koizumi Hanayo. "H-Hanayo!? What is going on!?"

"We're just showing our love, nya..." Rin whispered and kissed her. (Despite being an upside down kiss, Umi couldn't even be bothered to note how it similarly felt as good as a normal kiss.) "Mmnn..."

"And we'll show all our love tonight..." Hanayo whispered in turn, and started to unbutton the bluenette's uniform.

"M-mmmn!?" Umi couldn't even retort as her mouth as blocked. _T-this is crazy! What the hell is OHMYGOD__-_

Her eyes blinked in a panic and suddenly, Rin disappeared and Nishikino Maki replaced Hanayo. "Do you... not like me... Umi?"

"What- how- what's go- why-" Umi wasn't sure how to respond to that. Or more like, this entire time she was at loss for words.

_Am I high? Did I get into doing drugs somehow!?_ she wondered.

"B-but that's okay..." Maki said, regaining her attention. "Even if... even if you don't feel the same way... at least tonight we can..." she slowly quietened as her fingers slid under the upperclassman's skirt.

Umi paled. Or she turned extremely red, redder than Maki's face. She didn't know what color her face turned, but she couldn't care any less about that. _HOLYSHIT WHAT THE HELL-_

"Let's not rush it, now," another familiar voice spoke. Umi felt two individuals restrain each of her arms, and Maki stopped what she was doing before she completely vanished after another blink. "After all, Umi will be spending tonight with me, right?"

Umi turned right. Ayase Eli had her arm against the blonde's chest, and she had an incredibly seductive look on her face. "E-Eli..."

"Don't forget me now," her left partner's voice called. She turned right and saw the absolute worst person she could ask for in this situation- Toujou Nozomi. "We've only just gotten started..." she cooed and continued unbuttoning the bluenette's clothes.

"S-stop this shameless behavior at once!" Umi screamed.

Her mouth was then violently claimed by the part-Russian blonde, who pushed her tongue deep in her mouth. "M-mmhphh!"

"Ahhmmnn... mmnhhn... Umhhi..."

_WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT-_

Slowly, Nozomi's hands lingered down below the safe zone whilst her mouth moved closer to her now exposed chest. "Let's have fun, Umi..."

"Umi..." Eli moaned.

Umi felt her mind exploding with shame as she slowly gave in to desire and-

* * *

"_AKIHABARAAAAA!_" Sonoda Umi screamed as she shot up straight from her bed, completely red-faced and with sweat pouring down her face. She blinked a few times and looked around- she was completely safe and sound within her room, safe from the carnal desires of her friends and acquaintances, safe from the shamelessness of girls, and...

She smiled. A crazy smile, mind you, she smiled and started laughing to herself.

Then her laugh got louder as she covered her face.

Finally, she stopped completely and sighed.

"I'm the worst..." she muttered. "Having a wet dream about my friends..."

"Yeah, you're the worst!" a voice shouted. She froze and looked up- a girl she didn't recognize was standing in her room, in front of her mirror, facing her. "Stealing someone's paintbrush like that, you're a thief!"

Umi frowned.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue!?" the girl asked. "I'll have you return my paintbrush right here, right now!"

_No, more importantly, who the hell are_ you!? the bluenette thought.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl in front of her was wrapped in a red cloak, wearing a red sorcerer hat. She had shining blonde hair and green eyes, and a small comical fang protruding from one corner of her mouth. In her hand was a staff of the same size as the wielder, completed with a red gemstone attached on the head.

"Heh, trust me," the girl said and made some sort of martial arts pose, "you do _not_ want to get on my bad side!"

Umi blinked. _What's with that typical bad guy line?_ Then she observed the girl's random wack poses. _And what martial arts is that?_

"Um... so... who are you?" she eventually asked.

The girl stared at her. "...I hear the people of Japan introduce themselves before asking others, or at least they're expected to."

_No, where'd you even get that sort of stereotype?_ Umi sighed, feeling slightly frustrated for having to deal with this sort of thing first thing in the morning. "I'm Sonoda Umi."

"..."

"..."

"...that's it?"

She grabbed her alarm clock and threw it the intruder. "Get out!"

"Whoa! Geez! Scary lady much!" the girl yelled. She brushed her clothes and smiled. "I'm Kiririn Shyara! Unemployed magical girl, and part-time curse artifact researcher!"

_What the hell is this girl saying?_

Umi gently folded her blanket and placed it back neatly on the bed. "Uh, look. I don't know what the deal is with the paintbrush, but if it'll make you happy, I'll return it." She headed towards her school bag that was nearby. "In the first place, you shouldn't have left it in our club room like that..."

"T-that was just an accident!" Shyara said. "B-besides, I had reason to be there! I'm looking for the terrorist brainwashing group known as, uh, 'Muse'!"

The bluenette's eyes narrowed. _Terrorist... what?_ "...w-would you mind elaborating that?"

"Yeah, okay. So I read online that there's this group of nine girls called 'Muse', who's spreading their influence so fast that it could be considered terrorism!" Shyara explained. "Apparently people also say it's like 'brainwashing'!"

"...Ms. Kiririn, I think they're simply exaggerating praises," Umi finally said.

"Whaaaaat? Pft. Yeah, right." The girl shrugged and shook her head, as if Umi was the crazy one. "There's no such thing as a group of girls who can become so popular and not be terrorists."

"...you don't know what an idol is, do you?"

"H-how rude! Of course I do!" Shyara exclaimed. "They're... oh... ohhhh." She turned slightly red. "Oh, okay... it, it kinda makes a bit of sense now..."

"...so who were you looking for exactly?" Umi then asked. _Or rather, just go home already..._

"Anyone from the group, really," the blonde sorceress replied. "I just thought they might know something about magic and curses since... you know... brainwashing..."

Her tolerance dropping slightly, Umi rubbed the bridge of her nose. "...do you know about the members of Muse?"

"Yeah, I looked into details about all of them," Shyara said. Then she gasped in realization. "Speaking of which, one of them has the same family name as you! Is your sister a part of Muse?"

"..." Umi sighed. _This girl is an idiot._ "What's her name?"

"Sonoda Umi."

"...what's my name?"

"Sonoda Umi."

The two stared at each other for a while, neither one saying anything.

It took a while, but eventually she noticed the blonde sorceress' face turn red again.

"...j-just give me my paintbrush back, you jerk."

"...right." Umi pulled the paintbrush out of her bag and lightly tossed it over to the blonde. Before it even touched the girl's hands, it disappeared in a poof of smoke and reappeared back in her hands. "...um."

The other girl paled. "Uh oh."

* * *

"Kokoro! Kokoa! Kotarou! Breakfast is ready!"

Three different cheers echoed from somewhere within the house as three respective pairs of footsteps rushed down the stairs. Yazawa Nico sighed as her younger siblings all rushed to the dining table, hopping onto their chairs like some sort of gremlins. "Thanks for the meal!" they chanted.

"Where's Mom?" Nico asked.

"She's still sleeping," Kokoro replied.

"Winrar..." Kotarou chirped.

Nico grimaced. "Where'd you get that from?"

"...who knows."

Sighing, the ravenette promptly wondered whether she should go and wake her mother up, but ultimately decided against it. _The Star Idol Yazawa Nico has more important things to worry about, after all..._ She grabbed her bag and a package of store-bought bread, and went to the entrance. "Finish your breakfast and don't be late to school," she called. "And don't forget to lock the door before you leave!"

"Okay!" the three siblings chimed together.

_I'm kinda worried, but oh well._ Nico put on her shoes and hummed to herself as she left the house.

Doing some stretches, she eventually headed down the apartment. The girl looked up at the sky and smiled. "Alright then. Time to show the world today's super idol again!" She skipped away happily, in the direction of where her high school was. Within a few seconds, she spotted a familiar Muse member from afar. _Ooh, now that's not someone I run into often,_ she thought. "Hey! Umi!"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Umi said. "This paintbrush... is a cursed artifact, and I have now been cursed by it," she said.

"That's right."

"And the curse is that everyone falls in love with me."

"Yep."

"And because the creator of this cursed artifact was a gay girl, it only affects girls."

"From what I heard, yeah."

"And to be freed from this curse, I need to fall in love."

"You get the hang of things fast, Sonoda."

Umi violently threw the paintbrush out the window, smashing the glasses to pieces. "Like hell any of this makes sense!" she yelled. "What are you talking about!? A cursed paintbrush!? Fall in love to be free!? Become gay!? Are you crazy!?"

"Whoa, calm down there, brainwasher," Shyara said. "...but yeah, that's pretty much it, from what I've researched about it."

"What would you even research to find out about a stupid paintbrush?" Umi asked. "I don't believe you. I don't believe any of that utterly shameless stuff you were saying just now. Prove it or leave it."

"Uh, alright." Shyara took out a blank piece of paper and handed it over to the girl. "Draw something simple, anything, on this paper."

Umi tilted her head. "...okay." She took the paper and used the brush to sketch a cube. _Wait, where'd the ink come from...?_

Suddenly, the picture shined brightly. Umi covered her eyes and let the paper drop to the ground, where, to her surprise, it morphed into an actual cube.

Her jaw dropped. In front of her, on the ground, was a pure white, colorless cube, with sides drawn shakily due to her crap art talent. "W-what the... what!?"

"See?" Shyara said. "That brush is magic. You have to believe me now, right?"

"B-but that's just..." Umi frowned. "...wait, that just means the brush is a magical brush. That doesn't prove any of that curse or love thing."

"..."

"...you're an idiot, aren't you?"

Shyara blushed again. "God! You're so frickin' rude!" she growled and looked away, feeling quite humiliated. "A-anyways! Just believe me! You've been cursed now, so you need to fall in love! Pick anyone out of literally all girls who are falling for you!" she exclaimed.

Umi blinked. "...can I pick you?" she asked.

The blonde stared, before stepping back. "H-huh?"

"I- I mean, I'm not implying anything!" Umi exclaimed. "But this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of, and I don't have time for all this nonsense!" she said. "S-so, like, since you're also a girl, can't I just say that I fell in love with you, and get this done with!?"

"Wow, you are one halfassed girl," Shyara grimaced. "The curse isn't a living thing, stupid. Just because you say you like me wouldn't mean it would believe you. Just go and fall in love with one of your brainwashing friends!"

"We're not brainwashing terrorists!" Umi yelled. She sighed. _This is extremely stupid..._ She then saw the clock she had thrown earlier. "...wait, save this stuff for later. I need to get to school," she muttered.

"Oh, that's fine. I'll go with you," Shyara replied.

Umi stared. "...why?"

"I'm going to be a student there," she said. "Kiririn Shyara, joining the second year. Your class, probably. Nice to meet you."

"...you know what, I think I've stopped caring about this now." Sighing tiredly, Umi quickly dressed herself up and left the house with a piece of bread in her mouth. "See you later, or whatever."

"What're you talking about? I'm going with you," Shyara said.

_Dear gods, spare me._ Umi hung her head in defeat as she walked. Then she heard a familiar voice call her.

"Hey! Umi!"

She looked up and saw Nico running over to her. "Oh, hey, Nico. Good morning."

"Mornin' to you too." Her stamina already pitifully low, the ravenette panted to catch her breath. She then noticed the blonde sorceress standing next to her friend. "Who's this cosplaying midget?"

"Wha- geez! What is up with you and your friends being so rude to me!?" Shyara exclaimed.

_With that get up, you're sort of asking for it,_ Umi thought. "U-um, this is Kiririn Shyara. She's, uh, going to be transferring to my class... or something."

_Or something?_ Nico wondered.

"Or something?" Shyara asked.

"You be quiet." Umi sighed. "Sorry, Nico, today's been quite a weird day for me. Forgive me if I sound... troubled."

Nico blinked. "Uh, sure." _The day's literally just started though._ "Well, whatever. Since we're here now, let's just walk to school together."

"Uh, okay." Umi quietly walked alongside the blonde sorceress and the ravenette idol, then briefly recalled her wet dream in the morning. _...uh oh, how will I talk to Nico normally after that?_ she wondered, turning slightly red. Then she recalled that Nico never actually appeared in that disastrous dream of hers. _Oh well, safe._

Then Shyara's words plagued her mind again, the supposed fact that every girl would fall for Umi.

She promptly looked over at Nico. _...no, she doesn't seem to be in love with me._ Umi chuckled. _I knew that curse stuff was a lie._

The three continued on their way to school.


	3. Chapter 3

**,, Guest:** Well, university's slowly getting active again so it'll be slow again, but I'll try not to let it die once more.

* * *

"Well, I guess I'll be heading to the club room for now," Nico said as they neared the school gate.

"You're going right away?" Umi asked. "I thought you'd put your bag in the classroom first."

Nico clicked her tongue. "Nope. I've come up with a revolutionary way to ease my school life. Keep the bag in the club room, and only take the books I need to the classes I'll have."

_But that's more tiring since you can't go to the club room after every period..._ Umi thought. "Uh, right. If you say so. See you later, Nico." She waved bye to the girl and walked into the center section of the building, taking her shoes off and exchanging it with the school's shoes. She then realized Shyara was patiently waiting for her. "...uh, what're you waiting for?" she asked.

"I don't know my way to class," Shyara explained. "So you should lead me there."

"...right." Umi sighed in her head as she started to head towards her class, the blonde sorceress following her closely- and in the process, earning many stares from curious onlookers. "...can't you dress less... oddly?" the bluenette eventually asked.

"Nonsense, this fashion style is a necessity for sorceresses," Shyara replied. "Everyone knows that much."

_Nobody cares though,_ Umi wanted to say.

She then spotted Honoka from afar. "Honoka!" she called and headed towards the ginger haired girl. "Morning, Honoka."

"Oh, Umi!" the leader of the idol group smiled. "Good morning to you too, Umi! I was just thinking about you!"

"...w-what?" Umi asked, turning slightly red.

Honoka realized what she had just said and similarly blushed as well. "U-uh, sorry. I don't know what took over me. I meant, uh, I was just wondering where you were."

"O-oh, okay." Umi sighed with relief. Then the memory of her wet dream this morning returned to her, making her face heat up again. "...s-sorry for being shameless!" she blurted out.

Her friend flinched. "W-whoa, what?"

The blunette quickly shook her head, dismissing the memories immediately. "It's nothing!"

"...okay then...?" Honoka cleared her throat. "Anyways, let's, uh... oh, who's that?" she asked, peering at the blonde sorceress behind her childhood friend.

Umi looked back at Shyara, who didn't seem too comfortable with talking to Honoka so far. "Uh, this is Kiririn Shyara. She'll be joining our class... or some second year class, I guess."

"You guess?" Honoka repeated. She then shrugged it off, waving to the blonde. "Hi, Shyara!"

"...h-hi," the sorceress squeaked.

Umi smiled. _Ah, she's shy._ Then she frowned. "Hey, don't just casually start with her first name," she said.

"Eh, I'm sure it's fine. Right, Shyara?"

"...I- I guess so..."

"Say, is Kotori inside the class?" Umi asked and peered inside her classroom.

"Nah," Honoka said. "She went to the toilet just a few minutes ago." Before Umi could say anything, Honoka suddenly pulled out a package of bread. "Anyways, hey, check this out! The local Seven's started selling these new brand of bread, and it's super delicious!"

Umi chuckled. "Oh, you. Don't forget what happened last time you ate too much," she said.

"I- I won't get fat again, promise!" Honoka exclaimed. "If anything, I can go on a diet anytime!"

"Like that time you and Hanayo took a short break at a restaurant?"

"H-heyyyy!" the ginger haired girl pouted, turning a bit red from embarrassment.

"Haha, I'm just joking around." Umi brought her hand to her friend's head and rubbed her head. "Just... don't eat too much before dance practices, okay? Wouldn't want another case of stomachache before nor after it."

Honoka didn't respond for a while, but eventually seemed to come back to her senses. "U-uh, oh. Yeah, you got it, farm girl."

_The heck?_ Umi promptly wondered about her friend's sanity before dismissing that remark. She turned to her magical acquaintance. "Okay, uh, Kiririn. The teachers' lounge is just over there, you can't miss it." She pointed to the opposite of where they had came from, where, on the other side of the hallway, a room with several grownups were visible. "Just get in there and find, uh, Ms. Sasahara. Sasahara Kyouko."

"U-uh, right, got it," Shyara said and nervously left.

Umi sighed as she witnessed the mage sort of sneaked funnily towards the room. She promptly walked to her seat, figuring the mage would be fine, considering- well- she was a mage, apparently. Or something. Umi put her bag down and pulled her books out, sliding them underneath her desk. She then looked over to Honoka, who, to her surprise, had been staring at her. "W-what is it?" she asked.

Honoka jolted. "Uh, nothing." She quickly looked away, avoiding her gaze, feigning (terribly) a whistling tune.

_...was there something on my face?_ Umi frowned, feeling really slightly troubled by her friend's weird behavior today. Then she recalled what Shyara had told her, about the paintbrush's curse making girls fall in love with her. She glanced at Honoka again. _...no way, right?_

"...you're staring at me again," Umi said as Honoka seemed to be looking at her again.

The ginger haired girl yelped and covered her face. "S-sorry! I, uh, I don't know what's going on with me today..."

Umi turned a bit pink. _Is she really... no, no way._ She dismissed her initial conclusions and decided to worry about her friend instead. "Are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the nurse?" she asked.

"Uh, no, it's fine... probably..."

"...if you say so."

Honoka whistled again and looked out the window, waiting until Umi's attention stopped gathering on her. She took one last glimpse of her blue haired friend, smiling a bit. _...that felt really nice, somehow._

* * *

Soon after Kotori returned to class and took her seat, (and greeting her friends of course,) the bell rang a few minutes later. Their homeroom teacher- and conveniently their next (first) period's teacher- Sasahara Kyouko walked into the classroom alone. "Alright, girls, settle down. We've got a new student today," she said.

"Oh, it's Shyara!" Honoka cheered.

_You sure act energetic for someone who's just met her,_ Umi noted, whilst Kotori was slightly puzzled.

The witch-like girl then walked into the class, earning the gazes of pretty much everyone. Well, to be specific, her hat earned those gazes. The blonde definitely noticed the stares, because she started shifting around and fidgeting her fingers like crazy. But she did nothing about the hat.

_Um, it's your hat, you idiot,_ Umi thought.

Kyouko cleared her throat. "Right. This here is..." she paused.

Shyara then noticed the teacher look at her and jolted awake. "O-oh, um. Hi. I'm... I'm Kiririn Shyara."

"_Hello! / Hi! / Good morning!_"

"Hey, Shyara!" Honoka called and waved.

Shyara flinched. "...h-hi."

"Tell them about yourself?" Kyouko nudged.

"...u-um, I'm... from somewhere far away..."

"Are you a foreigner? Your hair is blonde like Eri's!" Honoka inquired.

"Honoka, I swear to whatever religious deities above, you're talking too much!" Umi yelled.

"Geez, moody much," Honoka remarked, earning her a specially made glare from Umi herself.

Shyara looked around. "...t-that's all."

_Wow, short,_ the class thought.

"Wow, short," Kyouko said. Then she feigned several coughs. "Sorry, I don't know what just happened. Anyways, um... take that seat over there."

"Ooh, wait, wait!" Honoka exclaimed. "Shyara, Shyara! How'd you get to know Umi?" she asked excitedly.

"Honoka, for real..." the bluenette growled.

Shyara blinked. Then she looked down, wondering what to say. Umi stared at her, confused, before she thought she saw the blonde grin for a split second.

_...what was that?_ Umi wondered. She promptly grabbed her water bottle and twisted it open, taking a sip from it.

Then the blonde's mouth opened. "Um... she... t-took something important... of mine..."

_pppssssssshhhhhh_

The entire class froze as Umi was sent into a heavy coughing spree. Pain filled her throat and nose whilst she slowly pushed herself up from her seat, everyone's eyes focused on the blonde, their faces turning red. "S-Shya... hack... khhhkhh... _Shyara!_" Umi yelled.

Shyara stared at her with her false blush, then winked, and stuck the tip of her tongue out.

"Y-you shameless liar!" Umi shrieked. "T-that's not-"

"Um," Sasahara Kyouko interjected, "let's, uh, save that for later." She watched Umi sit back down begrudgingly. Then she looked away. "...please come to the teacher's lounge later, you two."

"_Ms. Kyoukoooooo!_" Umi yelled.


	4. Chapter 4

**,, flameofsoul:** thanks. nico will play a bit more important role later on. ...if i stick to my plans. thanks again, friend.

**,, Akari.P:** thanks. the brush hasn't displayed much abilities to the story yet, so you'll find that out later. tbh i dont mind reviews much, but still, it delights me when people do, so, thanks plenty, friend.

* * *

"Why'd you say that!?" Umi exclaimed.

"Say what?" her new acquaintance asked, deigning curiosity and innocence.

The bluenette pulled her own hair, frustrated. "T-that thing! That thing you said back there! Now everyone thinks we're g... g...!"

"Why're you trying not to say gay?" Shyara asked with genuine confusion.

"S-stop! Stop! That's... that's shameless!" Umi screamed. Receiving a few seconds of silence, she sighed. "...our country doesn't accept that sort of thing easily, you know? And now I'm going to be seen as one of the shameless people!" she said.

"Hey, that's not actually a nice thing to say," Shyara said with a frown. "There's nothing wrong with being gay."

"T-that's besides the point!" the shcool idol said.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde paid no heed. "Besides, I'm helping you. Now you have a chance to give one of your girlfriends something to convince them that you're _not_ with me, and boom! Love level up!" she said.

"Okay, one: why would I do that?" Umi asked. "And two: what do you expect me to do, get them a diamond?"

"...one, because the magical paintbrush. Two, I mean... yeah."

"That magic story thing is a lie!" The bluenette crossed her arms. "Just so you know, I still refuse to believe it's a magical paintbrush."

"Sonoda, you've seen it draw a cube into reality, out of nothing." Shyara raised an eyebrow. "If that wasn't magic, what do you think that was?"

"...i-it was something, but it definitely wasn't magic." Umi then glared at her. "And I'm definitely not cursed!"

"You're stubborn at the weirdest times," Shyara muttered. "Well, either ways, I'm still studying the curse. You'll believe me sooner or later, when I bring back more believable results."

"I'm surprised you'd think anything about that stuff is believable," Umi replied. "Anyways, I'm going to head back to class, to eat with Honoka and Kotori. You just... go to the cafeteria or something."

Shyara blinked. "...h-hey, wait, you're going to leave me all alone? Really?"

"Kiririn, you're a stranger posing as a high school student, I'm sure you're good enough to eat alone." Sighing, Umi glared at her again. "And you've already gotten me in trouble with Ms. Kyouko this morning, I don't need more rumors to spread from us being together."

"B-but-"

"No buts!" Umi pointed towards the opposite direction. "Get to the cafeteria and get something to eat!"

The blonde stared, then tried her best to imitate a puppy face.

"...really?" Umi asked.

"Might as well try," Shyara replied.

The two stared at each other for a long time, before Umi noticed several other students peeping on them. She groaned. "Gods, fine, come join us or whatever."

"Thanks, Sonoda," the blonde chirped. "Love ya."

"..." Umi saw the peeping toms turn bright red from that.

"She said love...!"

"That was an affectionate confession!"

"Those two really are-"

"I will throw you out the window!" Umi hissed at Shyara, before walking back towards class. The blonde hummed happily to herself as she followed her, ignoring the stunned and confused faces of their peeping toms.

* * *

"So, uh, Shyara," Honoka began, "how long have you and Umi been, um, like _'that'_?" she asked.

"H-Honoka! I told you!" the blunette yelled. "We are _not_ like that!"

"Oh, since yesterday," Shyara replied.

"Kiririn!"

Kotori chuckled. "You two seem to get along so well."

_How!?_ the bluenette thought.

"Wait, so it's been just a day?" Honoka asked. "Are you, like, experimenting with sexuality?"

"Something like that," Shyara said. "Sonoda said she was curious and wanted to try dating."

"With someone you just met?" the ginger asked, raising an eyebrow. "You are weird, Umi."

Umi growled. "Kiririn, one of these days, I will..." She paused. _Wait, actually, that was a good excuse._ "Uh, right."

"...Umi, if you wanted to try out something like that, you could've asked me," Kotori said.

The three stared at the grey haired girl, who blinked twice before realizing what she said. Her face turned pink.

"W-wait, that's not what I... t-that came out a bit wrong," Kotori fixed herself and looked away. "I- I meant you could've always asked any of us... from Mu's..."

"T-that'd be shameless!" Umi hissed. "B-besides, that's not really better!"

"...w-well, I personally wouldn't mind," Honoka whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"N... nothing."

Umi stared. "...right." She sighed and took another bite from her sandwich. "Anyways. Can we, like... change the topic or something...?"

"Whatever you desire, honey," Shyara said.

Again, this prompted some eavesdroppers and Honoka and Kotori to turn a bit pink.

"Kiririn," Umi muttered.

"Okay, okay, don't throw me out the window," the blonde said.

"...Umi, you make scary threats," Honoka noted.

"..."

The conversation died as they resumed eating, running out of ideas of things to talk. Except for the false rumor with Shyara, but Umi would probably kill the other two, they figured. Or shoot arrows through their butts, but that didn't sound pleasant either.

_...actually... huh._ Honoka felt rather ashamed once she imagined such a scenario in her head, growing curious. She shook her head to shake off the image, once more getting her friend's concern.

"Honoka, are you sure you're okay today?" Umi asked. "You're a bit off today, I'm worried you won't be able to practice properly."

"N-no, no, I'm fine," the ginger replied, "I just, uh... I just need something to distract me..."

Kotori then chuckled.

"...what're you laughing at, Kotori?" Umi asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just... I dunno, your lips are a bit shiny," she said. "Grease from the sandwich, I guess."

"O-oh, okay." Umi smacked her lips twice, but eventually remembered that never did anything to help. She moved around i her pockets to try and pul her handkerchief out.

Honoka, meanwhile, stared at the bluenette's lips. "...hm. Shiny."

"...it's really nothing to stare at," Umi mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"...I want to kiss," Honoka blurted.

"..."

"..."

"Whoa," Shyara whispered.

Asides from the useless blonde, everything went silent for the group- and that meant _everything._ Everyone in the class were now staring directly at them, unsure what to make of what they just heard.

Honoka's and Umi's face turned extremely red. "H-H-Hono-"

"No! That! Was! Just! Some! Thing! Mistake!" Honoka interrupted. Then she grabbed her loaf of bread and ran towards a random direction.

"W-wait right there!" Umi screamed.

Then Honoka... jumped through the window.

Umi's red face turned into a dreadful blue. "Honoka!?" she screamed.

The ginger haired idol somehow landed safely on the ground floor and ran towards their school's gate. "I want to go to hell!" she screamed whilst covering her face.

"W-whoa," Shyara muttered.

"T-that was quite the confession," Kotori remarked.

"No, how the hell did she survive that!?" Umi asked. "That was impossibly dangerous! Y-you girls saw that, right!?"

"Yeah," her remaining childhood friend said. "That was really fast, how she ran away... Honoka.."

Umi narrowed her eyes questioningly. "How is that the only thing you comment on?" she asked. Then she regained her blush. "A-and forget what she said!"

Their classroom door slid open with a slam. "What happened in here!?" a familiar ballet danger inquired.

The bluenette smiled. "Eli" she said, relieved. "J-just now, Honoka jumped out the window!"

"And she ran out of school!" Kotori added.

Eli frowned. "She _what!?_"

"I know, right!?"

"Why'd she do that?"

"..."

Umi looked away.

_Oh, boy._ Eli scratched her head. "Well, uh. Umi! You're coming with me to get her back!"

"Wait, what?" The blunette felt the blonde grab her hand, and suddenly she was pulled out the classroom and towards a safer path out the building. "W-wait, can't we just call her by phone to come back?"

"No! We're going out there to get her!" Eli said. "That's the most logical choice!"

"No it's not!" Umi yelled. "What's with you today!? Am I the only one noticing everyone around me be weird today!?"

Eli continued running. _Sorry, Umi. I've been giving this a lot of thought since yesterday..._ she thought.

_I just want to spend some time with you!_

* * *

Shyara watched as the two girls ran out the school gates as well. _...she does have a point though,_ the blonde thought and looked at the shards of glasses near her feet. _That sort of action would've killed the girl..._

"I hope Umi will be okay..." Kotori whispered. "...and Honoka..."

_Their common senses seems to have been tweaked with._ Shyara rubbed her chin. _After school, I'll have to investigate the spellcode of this area..._


	5. Chapter 5

Umi blinked twice, then looked around the coffee store. "...uh, Eli?"

"Yes, Umi?" the blonde happily chirped.

"...are you sure you saw Honoka come in here?" she asked. Whilst chasing after a fleeing Honoka, Eli had took the lead and dragged Umi along, which made sense. Then at some point, the blonde had stated that she saw Honoka entering this store, and pulled the bluenette into the restaurant, claiming to have successfully trapped the ginger within the store's restrooms. Whether she believed the senior or not... well... "I mean... I haven't seen her at all, and so far, you've done nothing except relax in here."

Said supposedly dignified student council president laughed. "Oh, it's fine to relax, Umi. Honoka won't be going anywhere, we can take our time."

"If she's even here in the first place..." the bluenette muttered. "...actually, wait a second. Isn't this basically skipping classes? We should seriously head back! Ms. Kyouko is going to heavily disappointed with me..."

"Umi, it'll be fine," Eli replied and rolled her eyes. "You can keep relaxing and enjoy your cup of coffee."

"...this is plain water," Umi pointed out, having opted for something she preferred and didn't slightly dislike.

"Water can be enjoyed too," Eli remarked.

The bluenette blinked. _...is it just me, or is Eli actually not as amazing as I thought she'd be?_ she wondered. "...right. So how longer are we going to... 'relax', Eli?"

"Hmm..." Eli rubbed her chin. "...how about until the end of the day?"

"...no." Umi narrowed her eyes and glared at the blonde. _Okay, seriously, she's starting to seem like an idiot to me._ The girl sighed and looked back at the restroom's direction, where they've supposedly 'cornered' Honoka by simply coming to this coffee shop. "...I think we can go capture Honoka now."

"Hmm... well, if you think so..." Eli said. Then, just as Umi got up from her seat, she dug around her pockets. "Say, uh, Umi. Are you free this weekend?"

Umi paused and blinked. "This weekend? Uh... I guess so?" _Nothing I've got to do, really._ Briefly forgetting about the Honoka situation, she rubbed her chin and looked down. "Hmm... yeah, I'm not recalling anything important..."

"Oh, good! Then, uh, wait..." The blonde pulled out two sheets of some sort of ticket. "I received these from some small lottery. They're premium entry tickets to the recently opened amusement park, the Pentagon Square Wonderland. Do you want to go with me?"

"...uh..." The bluenette narrowed her eyes. _Pentagon Square Wonderland? I've never even heard anything about something like that opening..._ Then she grimaced mentally. _What's with the stupid name anyways? It's completely... wait._ She blinked. _Is she... asking me out on a date?_ The girl turned a light shade of pink and stared at the tickets. "...u-um..."

"Wait!"

The two whipped their heads to... surprisingly, Honoka, who seemed to have ran in from the direction of the store's toilets. _She really was here!?_ Umi briefly thought.

Honoka pointed at the blonde student council president accusingly. "You can't do that!"

Umi blinked. "S-she can't do what?"

Eli grinned. "Can't do what, Ms. Runaway Girl?"

"You can't invite Umi out on a date like that!" Honoka exclaimed.

"Oh, yes I can, and I will!" Eli retorted.

The bluenette turned redder, her thoughts low-key confirmed. "N-now, hold on a second here!" she interjected, but to no avail.

"U-Umi's busy!" Honoka said. "She doesn't have time to go with you!"

Eli got up. "She just told me she was free this weekend though."

Honoka frowned. "Then... um, then whatever! She hasn't said yes yet, so I'll go instead!" the girl said.

The blonde stared at her, confused. "Why would I go with you!?"

"I-it doesn't matter who you want to go with, does it!?" Honoka said. "Unless, unless you l-like Umi or something!"

"W-well, I don't! I just, uh, want to hang out, uh..."

Umi looked between the two girls, her face steaming hot, screaming inside. _What the hell is going on!? What should I do!?_ She almost wanted to explode here and lecture the two girls on making a ruckus in public, but then she blinked upon realizing absolutely no one was paying attention to them. _Oh god, don't tell me they think it's a lovers' quarrel and don't think it's anything worth watching?_ The girl hissed to herself, feeling even more embarrassed by the second. _Oh god, don't tell me I look like some sort of player!?_

She instinctively reached into her pocket, and suddenly felt something in both sides. The girl pulled her left hand out and saw the paintbrush gripped within her left hand. _...wait, didn't I leave it in my bag?_

Then she pulled out her right hand and... found another ticket. The same premium entry ticket to the stupidly named amusement park.

_...where the hell did I get this from!?_ Umi asked herself.

Then, the bickering voices of her childhood friend and her senior snapped her out of it again. She looked up to see they were still glaring at each other and yelling something about her, and felt the atmosphere turn a bit scary. She doubted a fight would break out here, but it wasn't out of the possibilities.

"I'm going to go with Umi! Problem!?" Eli hissed.

"Yeah! Umi's not going with you, so I'll go!" Honoka retorted.

Umi, finally sick of this unnecessary argument, cleared her throat. "That's enough!" she exclaimed. "Both of you, seriously! You're acting like complete children, it's just pure embarrassment on yourselves!"

"B-but, but Umi!" Honoka wailed.

"No, Honoka! Enough is enough!" the bluenette said. "I thought you were better than that, geez! And you, Eli!" she said and turned to the blonde. "You're the student council president, for heaven's sake! Stop getting all serious over asking me... out..."

She blinked, then turned red again.

"...s-so, is that a yes?" Eli asked.

"Hey! T-that's definitely a no!" Honoka said.

Umi growled. "D-didn't I just say to stop it!?" she shouted, shutting the two up again. Sighing, her right hand curled up into a fist momentarily before she felt the strip of paper again. Then, an idea came to her head. "If it bothers you two so much, then look! I also have a ticket!" she said and showed the questionable premium entry ticket that she still had no idea where it came from.

Eli and Honoka stared. "O-oh, so you also had a ticket..."

"That's nice..." Eli said. "...so you were going to go anyways! So let's go this weekend!"

"I said no!" Honoka hissed.

Growling again, she quickly shut the two up once more. "As I was going to say... now we have three tickets, so we can all go together!"

Honoka and Eli blinked. "...ooohhh..." they both said together.

"Yes! So stop arguing like children!" Umi said.

Exchanging glances, Honoka and Eli suddenly exploded into laughter.

Umi sighed. _At least now they're sort of getting along..._ She looked at the two once more, before turning to the register's direction, pulling out her wallet from her pocket. Then, as she dragged the other two with her and proceeded to pay for their time here, she recalled her situation. _...wait, did I just set myself up for a date with two of my friends?_

She glanced back at the two again.

They both noticed her stare and smiled. "Let's have fun this Saturday, alright?" Eli said.

"Let's find lots of good food there!" Honoka said.

Umi, again, for the umpteenth time that day, blushed. "R-right..."

...then another question came to her.

_Wait, what day is it today?_

* * *

Toujou Nozomi calmly exited the Idol Research Club room and closed the door. She had been hoping her junior, a certain blue haired girl, would be in the room, but luck wasn't on her side today. Sighing, she looked out the window. From passing gossip and discussions, she had heard that Umi left the school premises with Eli earlier in the day to chase after a fleeing and supposedly closet-exiting Honoka.

_Stupid Eli, making a move before me,_ the busty student thought. Holding a card to her mouth, she walked through the corridors wondering when Umi would return. After all, her bag was still in the school, and Nozomi had been kind enough to bring it to the club room to prevent any student in the junior's class from stealing it.

Obviously, she deserved a reward. Or maybe she could also perform some _washi-washi_ on the junior as punishment for leaving the school before the end of the day, which would also amuse her greatly and serve as her own reward as well.

_...wait a second..._ Nozomi came to a stop. She burrowed her eyebrows, perplexed by her thoughts. _When did I become so fascinated by Umi?_

Then, looking back at the club room's door, she saw an unfamiliar blonde dressed like some sort of mage cosplayer sighing and entering the club room.

"...oh?" The third-year blinked as she tried to recall if any of her idol group's members had looked like that. Of course, the results were null and void. She narrowed her eyes and walked back towards the club room.

_It can't be a new member... I mean, unless Hanayo had been successfully finding new members to join,_ Nozomi thought. _After all, Nico did appoint her as the next club president after she, Eli and I had..._ She stopped again.

"..." The third-year looked down.

_...something's not right._ She sighed and walked away, tarot cards in tow. _Something's really not right._


	6. Chapter 6

Afterwards, Umi eventually returned to her school with Honoka and Eli, and went their separate ways. Or rather, she went with Honoka to her classroom, to pick up her bag- and in the meanwhile receive a light scolding from their teacher. Honoka retrieved her bag and promptly departed with Kotori, whilst Umi was told by her mage-like acquaintance of her bag having been moved to the club room for safety reasons.

"...wait, why'd you come back here if you took the bag to the club room?" Umi had to ask.

Shara rolled her eyes. "Because obviously you wouldn't know I took it to the club room, so I came back here to wait for you."

The bluenette raised an eyebrow, confusedly. "Or you could've just stayed here with my bag."

"..." The blonde realized her stupidity and turned light pink. "Shut up..."

Sighing, Umi walked alongside her and headed towards the club room. She then recalled the thought she had before having returned to school. "Say, today is Friday, right?"

Shyara stared at her. "Is it?"

"Well, my phone says it's Friday today, so I think so," Umi said.

"Then what's the worry?"

She scratched her head. "I don't know. It's not like I keep close track of the day or anything, I always just look at the calendar in my room." Umi briefly looked out the window and shrugged. "I just feel like yesterday was Tuesday.."

"Sonoda, I think you need to rest, because nobody can be that forgetful about days of the week," Shyara commented.

"I-it's not that, geez." Sighing again, Umi resumed walking. "I'm just pretty sure today isn't Friday. Things have been quite strange for me today." Then she remembered something else. "Oh, yeah... this thing followed me somehow," she said and pulled out the paintbrush from her pocket.

"You sure you didn't just take it with you?" Shyara asked.

"No, Kiririn, I didn't," the bluenette grumbled. "And yes, I know, paintbrushes just don't teleport to people, cursed or not. God, it's like I know what you're going to say..."

"...telepathy?"

"No!" She began to grow a bit frustrated at the blonde, but ultimately shrugged it off as she reached Mu's club room. "Bag, bag..."

"Don't worry, I didn't search through it," her blonde acquaintance said.

Umi stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. "...I wasn't thinking that at all, but now that you say that..." She unzipped her school bag and searched through it, just to make sure. "...okay then."

"Wow, I am hurt."

"Oh, get over it."

The girl picked up her bag and headed out the room again, only to stop upon noticing a familiar redhead standing in front of the entrance.

Umi blinked. "Oh. Hello, Maki."

The pianist nodded and looked down. "Um... yeah... hi."

Feeling something was off, Umi stared at her junior. "...is something wrong?" she asked.

Maki slowly looked at her, who noticed her face was a light shade of red. "...i-it's nothing."

"...alright then..." Umi uneasily walked past her and waited as Shyara exited the room as well. Wondering what could have embarrassed Maki, she racked through her memories and suddenly recalled the rather erotic dream she had this morning, as well as the topic of the cursed paintbrush again. "...o-oh..." _Don't tell me..._

"W-wait!" Maki suddenly said, causing her to turn around sharply.

"W-what is it?" Umi asked.

The redhead shyly walked up to her. "...S-Sunday!" she shouted.

Umi and Shyara exchanged glances. "...Sunday?"

"S-Sunday, yeah!" Maki said.

"...Sunday."

Shyara raised a finger. "That's two days from now."

"Yeah, very helpful, Kiririn."

Maki seemingly ignored the blonde and stared Umi in the eye. "Sunday... I-I'm going to an amusement park. Papa said I can. And... I have two tickets." She hesitantly pulled out two tickets to a familiar unknown amusement park that Umi had just made plans with Honoka and Eli to go with on Saturday. "The.. the Pentagon Square Wonderland. You can have one!"

Umi stared. _...she's just giving me, right?_ "Uh... thanks." She accepted one of the tickets. "...I'm already going on Saturday though..."

"S-so what!" Maki said. "This Sunday... c-come with me!"

_I-it's a date!_ The bluenette blushed again. _She really does...__!_ "U-uh, alright. I'll go on Sunday."

"Hooh. You go girl," Shyara snickered.

"I will throw you out the window," Umi whispered before turning back to Maki. "Um, Maki..."

The redhead looked at her fiercely, as if expecting something. "Y-yeah? You... you can, right?"

Umi blinked. Staring her junior in the eyes, noticing her rather cute face... "...o-of course I can. Thanks for the ticket," she eventually said, unable to refuse her junior's face, something equivalent to those damned puppy faces she saw in fictional media.

Immediately, Maki's fierce expression exploded into a smile- and one Umi couldn't help but admit was too damn adorable, at that. "Y-yes..." Maki hissed to herself, before turning back to Umi. "T-then. Sunday, I'll be waiting for you. Got that?"

"S-sure." Umi stared as Maki turned around and skipped away humming a familiar tune. _Aishitery Banzai, huh?_ She couldn't help but smile at the redhead, until she turned around and saw an annoying blonde grinning at her. "...oh, shut up."

"How're you enjoying your popular life, player?" Shyara teased. "Going on dates... woo!"

"I'm going to open the window..." Umi muttered, turning red again.

Then she heard running behind her. _Maki?_ The girl turned around to see the redhead running back to her. "Maki?"

"A-actually, Umi!" Maki said. Then, as she reached the bluenette, she grabbed the girl by the collar.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, pulled towards the girl, Umi felt her junior's lips against her own. Immediately, her mind went blank.

_What._

_What._

_What._

_What!?_

_W... whaaaaat!?_

Her cheeks became steaming hot as she felt Maki kiss her gently, her mind threatening to explode with this new sensation she was feeling, with this realization that Maki was definitely, completely and totally in love with her. And also...

_Soft._

_Soft._

_Soft._

_Her lips are soft._

_Ssssooooft. So fucking soft, her lips are-_

"Bwah!" Umi quickly jumped back and covered her mouth, face redder than Maki's hair herself. The junior looked at her, equally embarrassed, but seemingly determined as well. "M-Maki!?"

"S-sorry. I'm... I like you!" Maki confessed. "I... I don't want to keep it to myself any longer, so... so yeah!" The girl turned around and started to walk away, but stopped and turned to her once more. "T-this Sunday, alright!? It, it's a date! A date!"

"...r-right..." Still somewhat dazed, Umi nodded weakly as Maki suddenly ran off. She touched her lips a bit, wondering if she really had just been kissed. "...n-not a dream... not a dream..."

"Holy shit..." a new voice said.

Frozen stiff, Umi forced herself to turn around and look past Shyara. To her horror, Nico was standing there, most likely having- no, definitely having witnessed the kiss.

She immediately thought of the curse and the dream, despite the ravenette not having appeared. _O-oh no, hold on!_ "W-wait, Nico, don't-"

"This is scandalous!" Nico suddenly shouted and turned around. "Guys! Guys! Girls! You'll never believe what I just say!" she screamed and ran off.

Umi blinked, then sighed with relief. _She won't kiss me too, good... wait!_ The girl paled and started running after the ravenette. "N-Nico! Stop! Stoooop!"

Left behind, Shyara stared as the two disappeared around a corner. "...Yazawa Nico, huh... how odd."

* * *

Sitting by herself in a local restaurant, Nozomi flipped open a small book to an empty page. Taking in a deep breath, she pulled a pen out of her pencil case and removed the cap, holding it above the notebook. She then closed her eyes. "Priorities... priorities." The girl lost focus on her surroundings as she vanished into her thoughts.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and quickly wrote down everything on her mind at that moment. Then, she read what she wrote down.

_Fortune telling. School idol. Studies. Student council. Parfaits. __Sonoda Umi._

The girl narrowed her eyes. As she had expected, Umi had somehow become on of her top priorities.

Flipping to another page, she took another deep breath. "Identity... identity..." Letting herself become lost in her mind once more, she asked herself who she was.

_Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi. Nozomi Nozomi. Ce..._

She opened her eyes and scribbled the odd name down. Then, putting her pen down, she picked up her notebook and stared at it.

"...Ce...cilia...?"


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Umi was woken up early in the morning by the alarm she had set on the mini shelf next to her bed. She grumpily reached over to the clock and hit the button to stop the loud noise. Normally, she'd be up and energetic right away, but due to various- and obvious- complications in her life right now, she was beginning to understand the mental fatigue that everyone faced upon waking up.

"Ugh... what a pain..." she growled.

"Tell me about it..." Shyara said and got up. "Who sets alarms for Saturday, geez...?"

Umi frowned. She turned to her left to see a familiar but annoying blonde in her bed. "...Kiririn?"

"Yeah?" the mage asked as if nothing was wrong.

"...can you float?" Umi asked.

"...sort of. Why do you ask?"

* * *

In two different places, Honoka and Eli had just woke up around the same time. Whilst Honoka unnaturally got up full of energy, Eli had calmly turned off her alarm clock and got up as she normally does everyday. The two then went different ways- Honoka ran to her closet and pulled the doors open, a wide smile on her face as she scanned through all her choices of clothing for the day, while Eli groggily but elegantly (somehow) walked out her room and headed towards the stairs.

As Honoka eventually narrowed her choices down to three outfits, Eli had just finished brushing her teeth and was rinsing her mouth.

Then, after lying the sets of clothes on her bed, Honoka realized she hadn't brushed her teeth yet and she quickly ran out the room, running downstairs to get into an empty restroom.

Eli, on the other hand, leisurely walked back upstairs after washing her face, her stamina fully revitalized. The blonde returned to her room and stared at the set of clothes she had hung outside her closet.

While she undressed herself, Honoka quickly finished brushing her teeth and ran back up. She heard her sister's groan from the neighboring room, but she dismissed it as she returned to her room and examined the three options to pick from.

Few minutes later, the two stood in their rooms, examining themselves in the mirror.

"...hmm... not too bad," Eli noted.

"I hope Umi won't think it's weird..." Honoka murmured.

The two did a light twirl, and then chuckled to themselves.

"Today's definitely..."

"...going to be fun!"

Their respective doors swung open again as their sisters entered the room.

"Ugh, sis... can you be any louder...?" Yukiho asked.

"Sis... you sure are up early..." Arisa mumbled.

Honoka and Eli looked to their sisters and smiled.

"You'll understand when you're a bit older," they said at the same time.

* * *

"I can't believe you really did throw me out the window!" Shyara screamed as she ran after the blue haired maiden, who readjusted the light pink toque (knitted cap) on her own head. "Like, that was totally unnecessary!"

"Oh, get over it!" Umi replied. "You said you could float!"

"That's not consent!" Shyara retorted. "You ought to treat a lady better than that!"

"I don't have time for that right now, Kiririn!" Umi said. "I need to find the stupid amusement park! Wearing these is already embarrassing enough!" she said as she stopped before a red light.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you had a closet full of clothes. You're the one who chose to use the paintbrush."

Umi turned to glare at the mage, recalling a short moment earlier this morning.

_"Oh no! There's an hour left before the meeting time, and I don't even know where that weird named amusement park is!" Umi said. "And I haven't even prepared what clothes to wear!"_

_Shyara weakly floated back through the broken window. "Just use the paintbrush to paint something nice... also, did you seriously just thr-"_

_"Good idea!" Umi said, panicking too much to think. She grabbed the paintbrush off her mini desk and scribbled on the wall of her bedroom. "...wait, I shouldn't-"_

_"No, it's fine, it'll fade," Shyara said as the ink glowed and transformed into real physical clothes. "Anyways, I can't believe you just-"_

_"No time, Kiririn! I need to hurry and change!"_

Shyara blinked. "...okay, maybe I kinda told you to do it, but still. Any normal person wouldn't have panicked in your situation."

"No normal person has ever been cursed with a harem by a stupid magic paintbrush!" Umi hissed.

"Huh, good point."

The traffic light turned to green, and the two resumed their travels. "Argh! Why doesn't the ticket have any address to the park on it!?" Umi growled, frustrated. "And why the heck isn't there any information online, when the Internet's supposed to have everything!?"

"Pft. Kids these days. Always relying on technology," Shyara snickered.

"Don't make me throw you out the window again!" Umi growled.

"We're outside."

"...I'll throw you on the streets."

Shyara paled. "H-hey, that's not funny."

Umi sighed and stopped in front of another red light. Then, as she waited quietly, the girl frowned and looked around. "...actually, hey, I haven't really seen that much cars today," she said.

"So?" The blonde scratched her head. "Doesn't sound too odd."

"...no, usually this city is more crowded. Today though..." Umi looked around uneasily. "It's almost like... the place is a lot more... empty..."

Suddenly, as if responding to her words, cars began emerging and making the place actually seem crowded. More people began to appear as well.

"...even the timing is odd..." Umi muttered.

"Never mind that, how long do you think it'll be until you find the place?" Shyara asked.

"How would I know? I told you, I don't know where the place is at all."

Suddenly, a woman tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me. Are you lost?"

Umi blinked. "No, no, I'm not... well, maybe." She pulled out one of her tickets for the Pentagon Square Wonderland. "Do you know where this place is?"

The woman examined the ticket. "Oh, yes! I know where this place is. Shall I take you there?"

Smiling with relief, the bluenette nodded. "Yes, please, that'd be very nice." She turned around and saw Shyara walking away. "H-hey! Where are you going?"

The blonde looked back at her. "I was just trying to help you find it, but someone else is taking you there, so it's all good now!" she said. "I need to head to your school to examine some stuff again, so have fun on your date!"

"Uh, alright." Umi stared. "...and it's not a date!" she quickly added.

* * *

Eli glanced at her her wristwatch. "...just a few more minutes..." she said to herself.

Then, she heard running footsteps in front of her. The girl quickly looked up with a smile ,expecting a certain blue haired maiden she fancied, only to frown when she recognized the person over to be none other than her idol group's leader, Kousaka Honoka.

"Oh, it's just you, Honoka."

Honoka panted, and looked up. "Eli? Ah, geez, I thought Umi would already be here..."

"Still gunning for her, hm?" the part-Russian girl said. "Well, I suggest you give up on her now before it's too late. My date with her would go much better today, then."

"Forget it!" Honoka yelled. "I'm the closest to her, I know she'd definitely prefer being with me!" she said.

Eli snickered. "The only thing she'd prefer is if you eat less and take practices more seriously."

Honoka blushed. "Y-yeah!? Well, you're... well you're just a ballet dancer! How's that!?"

The blonde blinked. "...I'm not sure what you want me to say about that."

"Ha! Speechless, I see!" Honoka cheered, half-convinced that she had just won an argument.

_She's an idiot,_ Eli thought.

Then, the two heard footsteps again and turned their heads to the entrance in the distant. This time, they smiled together as a certain bluenette ran over to them.

Umi panted, similarly tired. "S-sorry I'm late! I got a bit lost trying to find this place... I had to get some older lady to bring me here..."

"You couldn't find where this place was?" Eli asked. "How can that be? It's all the craze right now..."

"Yeah, well I couldn't even find a single thing about it on the Internet..." Umi groaned. "Anyways, that lady even asked for my number for some reason... strange."

Honoka and Eli exchanged glances.

"...n-never mind that! Let's just have fun today, alright?" Honoka quickly said. "We're going to have a blast, Umi!"

"I say, but don't drag her around everywhere or she'll get tired," Eli said. "Allow me to handle this, please."

Both girls took each of Umi's arms, glaring at each other.

Umi deadpanned. _I don't feel happy about this._ "Uh... girls, there's really no need to hold my hands..."

The two turned pink and let go. "O-oh. Uh, right. You're right."

Sighing, Umi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed as well, as much as she was trying to push the feeling of embarrassment back. _God, I seriously hope this isn't a double date,_ she said, clinging onto a final shred of hope that denied the curse situation.

"L-let's start the date then!" Honoka chirped.

"Y-yeah, let's go!" Eli chimed in.

Umi's face burned with red. _Oh god, it really is a date._


	8. Chapter 8

**,, Fercha:** yeah, sorry about that. my priorities have been changing, and i've been updating other stuff and somehow forgot about this story. i'm back tho, www.

* * *

"Umi! Umi!" Honoka chirped excitedly, pointing to one of the tallest attractions of this unknown amusement park. "Let's get on the Ferris wheel!"

The bluenette laughed nervously. "Um, Honoka, I don't think-"

Eli scoffed, catching their attention. "Honoka, please. Everyone knows the Ferris wheel is the _last_ place to go to, because it's the most romantic one, for dates. Don't you know anything about the art of dating?"

The remark seemed to have offended (probably) Honoka, because the idol group's center pouted at the blonde. "O-of course! I knew that! I was just... just thinking it'd be nice to, uh, both start _and_ end it with the Ferris wheel!" she said.

"Ah, of course," Eli said with a sigh and shook her head, "what else was I expecting from you?"

"I feel insulted," Honoka mumbled.

Umi sighed. "W-well, she has a point maybe? But, uh, it's not like I'd mind it..."

Again, she was interrupted by the smitten blonde. "Anyways, Umi, come with me. I think it's best we start with something small and lovely, like the carousel."

Honoka recoiled. "Caroo... the what? What stupid ride name is that?" she asked, then snickered at the blonde. "Eli, please. Just because you're the student council president doesn't mean you have to come up with fancy words to impress _my_ Umi!"

"Who's yours!?" Umi asked, but she went ignored.

Eli rolled her eyes. "The carousel, my friend, in simpler terms, is the merry-go-round."

"O-oh! Right. I, I knew that!" Honoka said. Then, frustrated by her rival, she grabbed Umi's hand and ran towards the nearby merry-go-round attraction. "Come on, Umi! Let's go there!"

"W-wait, it's dangerous to run so suddenly..." Umi warned as she was being dragged away.

The blonde third-year, appalled by this turn of events, then gave chase. "H-hey! Stop right there, it was my idea!"

* * *

Nico scratched her head, slightly- no, that'd be an understatement- _extremely_ unsettled by her current situation. Or rather, the situation surrounding her entire place right now. When she first woke up, everything had been fine and dandy. She got up to cook for her siblings, briefly made fun of her mother for being oh so busy that she wasn't here, then briefly apologized mentally to her mother and thinking about how much she loved her family.

Then when she stepped outside in order to head to school, everything got weird.

The entire place was devoid of life. No people, no cars, heck, no damn birds or dogs or cats or anything.

Oh, and after finally checking her phone, turns out today was Saturday.

And she was certain, of course, of one thing: it was supposed to be Thursday.

"...what the hell is going on today?" she muttered to herself.

A thought then came to her.

"Oh, I swear to whatever deities exist, if I've become such an incompetent lazy ass that I slept through Thursday and Friday somehow..."

"Oh, hey, Nico."

The ravenette blinked and quickly turned around to see Nozomi in casual clothes. "Oh, it's you," she said. "Christ, don't just show up behind me."

Nozomi tilted her head. "You're Christian?"

"What? No," Nico replied.

"But you-"

"Not the point," Nico said. "Anyways, what're you doing here?" she asked. "...and why're you in casual clothes?"

The busty idol raised an eyebrow. "Nico, it's Saturday. Are you in trouble with the school?"

"The hell are you talking about?" Nico asked. "God, today's been so... oh, wait, so was it you who changed my phone's date?" she then asked, pissed.

Nozomi stared at her. "...Nico, I'm going to ask you something I never thought I'd ever ask you in my entire life, but... have you been doing drugs?"

"What? No! My God, Nozomi, you're not being helpful here!" Nico yelled.

"Seems to me like you're just crazy here," Nozomi muttered. "Anyways, I actually did just get back from Otonokizaka. I was checking out some stuff. You won't believe this, there's actually someone else there," she said and chuckled.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Nozomi, it's our lovable school, a place for students to learn at. How surprising."

"Nico, I'm telling you, it's Saturday," the purple haired girl said. "Anyways, that girl with the blonde hair and cosplaying magic hat is wandering around the sports field for some reason. I'd ask her what she was doing, but I don't feel like getting involved with that today."

The ravenette rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What do you want me to do about that? I'm still in my own predicament here."

"Mmn, who knows? I'm just heading home right now," Nozomi replied. "Stay safe, Nico."

"Uh, sure?" Nico blinked before looking at the direction of her school, wondering what she'd need luck to stay safe for in a completely normal town. _Or what, does this huge lack of life in this city right now have something to do with... oh, right!_ "Wait, Nozomi!" The girl turned back to Nozomi, but her friend had already disappeared. "What the... damn, she's fast."

Then, alone in the now-eerie city, she scratched her head.

"...actually, there's no way you can walk away that fast with that huge knockers of hers. I call blasphemy."

That was completely unrelated, but let's let her keep dreaming.

* * *

"Wheeee! ...aw," Honoka pouted when the carousel slowed to a stop. "Time's up already? But it was getting to the good part..."

Umi blinked. "But... all we do is spin around riding on unicorns, moving up and down," she said.

"That's the good part," Honoka replied.

Eli raised an eyebrow. "There's only one part and it's all the same."

The center idol scoffed. "You wouldn't understand anything, Eli."

"Um, hello? It was my idea to start with the carousel?"

"Yeah, keep using that imaginary word, Eli."

Umi sighed. "Girls, let's not get into another argument over something stupid..."

"Yes ma'am!" Honoka and Eli saluted.

_Oh, so _that's_ what you two get along on? And synchronized, too._ The bluenette looked around. "O-okay, then... anything, uh, else you want to do?"

"Hmm... I'm hungry," Honoka said. "How about we grab some lunch?"

"Honoka, it's still only ten," Umi said.

"S-so? Some people prefer to indulge in early lunch."

Eli snickered and leaned close to the girl's ears. "Calories..." she whispered.

Honoka responded to this by hissing at the blonde, smacking her lightly repeatedly.

Watching her two friends mess around, Umi sighed. "...well, I guess it can't be helped then," she said. "If you're that hungry, then let's, uh... oh, how about that crepe stand?" she asked and pointed at another direction.

Hnoka followed her finger and smiled. "Oooh! It looks like a great store! Let's go get some!"

Eli blinked. "...what're you planning?" she whispered to Honoka.

For some reason, even though Umi was expecting them to fight again, they suddenly huddled up together to whisper something. "...um, girls?"

They jumped and turned back to Umi. "Ohhhh don't worry, Umi! It's nothing!" Eli said. "Anyways, let's get going!"

The bluenette raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh..."

"Let's get going and share some crepes!" the blonde said.

"Yeah!" the idol center chimed.

She stared at the two for a while before chuckling. "Well, I've got to admit, if all this weird stuff wasn't going on, they're really adorable in a way."

_...wait, sharing crepes?_ The bluenette blinked.

* * *

Shyara was on her knees, feeling around the... dry... hard... ground. "...hm. Can't quite put a finger on it..."

"What're you doing?" a certain black haired idol asked from behind.

Without even batting an eye, Shyara continued her... activity. "Just investigating the inconsistency in the spellcode of this area."

"...right." Nico looked around, finding herself unsettled by the lack of people or even animals at school. "...chuuni much?"

"Please, I'm not delusional," the blonde mage said and rolled her eyes.

A few seconds passed.

Then she got up and glanced at Nico. "Wait, what the-"

"Late reactions. You're a weird one," Nico said. "Anyways, hey. What's up?"

Shyara blinked. "I... uh..."

"Yazawa Nico. We walked to school together yesterday morning," Nico said, slightly irritated. "...with Umi. Remember?"

"...ohhh," the blonde mused. "You're the rude one who called me a cosplaying midget..."

Nico recoiled. "What? No, I..." _Oh, wait..._ "...didn't."

"...hmph." Shyara got back on her knees and started feeling around the ground again.

The self-proclaimed universal idol stared. "...um."

"I told you, I'm investigating the spellcode of this area."

Questioning the girl's sanity, Nico rolled her eyes and scratched her head. Then an idea came to her. "...so, uh. How does it feel?"

Shyara raised an eyebrow but decided not to ponder it too much. "Well... it's hard and rough."

The girl contained a snicker. "I... I see. Any other... non-delusional observations or notes?"

"Hmm... well, my butt would definitely hurt if I slammed hard into it."

Nico lost it right there.

* * *

Umi could've sworn her friends weren't teases, but her currently burning hot face right now told her otherwise. After purchasing some crepes for all of them, courtesy of yours truly, they did something she never expected (but in hindsight she felt she should've expected)- they tainted her... her... cheeks! They assaulted her cheeks! These two completely ravaged her che-

"Thanks again for the crepes," Eli said, sinning on her cheeks yet aga-

Okay, so they were just small kisses on her cheeks. Big deal.

She did feel otherwise though, as kissing anywhere at all was a _huge shameless action that-_

"Yeah, thanks, Umi!" Honoka said and similarly kissed her on the other cheek.

Her face exploded with steam. "G-gaaaah!" she screamed, hands flailing to keep them away.

The two chuckled. "You're so easily embarrassed," Eli said. "So fucking cute," she added under her breath.

"...h-hey, wait, you just sw-"

"Cute Umiiiii!" Honoka chimed and pounced Umi, her arms wrapping the bluenette in a hug. "Wahahaha!"

"H-Honoka! Stop that!" Umi hissed, slightly worried what the maximum level of redness her face would become.

Eli pouted. "Yeah! I want to do that too!"

"N-not you too!" Umi wailed.

For a while, she struggled to keep herself standing as the blonde and the bread-lover was hugging her like they were attacking someone. Within few seconds, Umi lost it and her head fumed with smoke.

"Whohooaaa!" Honoka and Eli stared in awe, Umi's insane arm-flailing slightly amusing them. ...no, _greatly_ amusing them.

Then, Umi grabbed the two by the hands. "Y-y-you two!"

"Eh," they said.

"P-p-punishment!" Umi laughed, face redder than Maki's hair. "Haunted house! Haha, ha, hahahaha!" Suddenly, she began running towards a haunted house attraction.

Eli and Honoka, being dragged by her, exchanged glances before giggling. They then started running alongside the bluenette, equally excited for whatever weak attempt at 'punishment' their loved one would dish out.

Then the blonde frowned. "Wait, repeat that again?"

"Haunted hahahahoouuuse!" Mad-Umi (they later agreed that would be a good temporary name) squealed.

"Oh, fuck," Eli whispered.


End file.
